Project Grant 2206690

This National Science Foundation project grant of $346,472 will fund research into developing a new physical halo model for interpreting dark matter distribution data from galaxy surveys. A collaboration between the University of Arizona and the University of Maryland will provide the first fully physically motivated definition of dark matter halos based on the dichotomy between particles orbiting versus infalling into halos. The team will develop this revised halo model framework, construct halo catalogs applying it across simulated cosmologies and redshifts, and calibrate key halo functions. The resulting code and halo catalogs will be made publicly available. This award supports the NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences program's goal of strengthening the scientific enterprise through increasing fundamental knowledge in these areas.